Maurizio Sarri vowed he would not play more defensively despite the gaps against Arsenal last week. Chelsea could use some pragmatism, which does not have to mean playing like a Jose Mourinho side.
Last weekend, Chelsea defeated bitter rivals Arsenal in a 3-2 contest. A very exciting game from a neutral point of view, but Chelsea fans were left with a somewhat bitter taste. The match could have gone Arsenal’s way in the second half. To avoid conceding so many chances again, win against Newcastle United and carry that into one more game before the international break, Chelsea should be a little more pragmatic. They don’t need to go all out all of the time.
The game against Arsenal showed what Maurizio Sarri wants to bring to the club: fluent, elegant and fast-paced passing football. And, in all truth, it was delightful to watch.
Not just the passing, but the way the team reclaimed the ball from the Arsenal players. How the Gunners had no idea where to go because the ball was moving so quickly and efficiently. The movement of the Chelsea players into space and into the pocket in front of the Arsenal defense. Properly learned, the tactics could be even better than Barcelona’s golden age.
However, it was all still far from perfect. The Blues conceded two goals from cut-back plays. Arsenal could have had more had they not missed two sitters from the same type of play. Many individuals were responsible for allowing those chances to happen. Marcos Alonso, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta were the main targets of criticism. Although some of these criticisms might be right, the bottom line is the style of play and the tactics tend to leave the defense wide open.
Maurizio Sarri had one game plan against Arsenal: attack and pass. To do that he had Jorginho, Ross Barkley and N’Golo Kante in the middle.
However, the one defensive player out of the three was the furthest up. This, of course, left little defensive back-up for the back line. Although Jorginho did a good job of retrieving the ball many times from the Arsenal players, it was impossible to keep up the pace the entire 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Barkley had to create plays for the attacking three and, at the same time, provide an escape outlet for Jorginho.
One can surely understand why Kante was further up the pitch most of the time. He is incredibly efficient at pressing the opposition, forcing a mistake and creating turn-overs. However, his strengths are not making passes in the final third or scoring plenty of goals. Rather, he excels at providing a safety net for the defense and covering spaces with his quickness and stamina.
And of course, having David Luiz in defense means mistakes will be made and the remaining defenders won’t be enough to correct those mistakes.
Therefore, one way Maurizio Sarri can improve his tactics is to be more conservative in certain situations. Although a two-goal lead is a dangerous score to hold on to, it is far better than being only one ahead. Attempting to score plenty of goals doesn’t always work out for the best. It simply invites the opposition to hit on the counterattack. But letting the opposition chase the ball to open spaces could be the way to finish off a match.
The Blues have an opportunity to take over the Premier League with the new style of play Sarri wants to implement. Nevertheless, a more pragmatic strategy – one that doesn’t involve parking the bus – could be the solution for the Blues to get three points week in and week out.
Playing against Newcastle United on Sunday could be the perfect opportunity to correct some mistakes and implement new roles. Chelsea must take advantage of these moments to defeat the rest of the big teams in the league. This could bring about a new era of success to the club with exciting football and solid defending.
But for that to happen, the current set of errors need to be corrected starting now.